1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to camping materials and associated outdoor equipment, and more specifically to an improved hot water camping or other outdoor shower apparatus utilizing a motor vehicle engine to provide heat for the shower water.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Camping and other outdoor recreational activities are a popular pastime. While it is often useful for the camper to be able to shower or bathe while outdoors, the water from most available natural water sources such as lakes and streams tends to be colder than desired by most campers. Accordingly, many campers either go through the trouble of heating small quantities of water on a fire or campstove for bathing and cleansing purposes, or they simply forgo bathing entirely.
With the advent of vehicle (car, truck and recreational vehicle) camping, some hot water systems utilizing water heated by the vehicle internal combustion engine have been developed. For example, Reardon U.S. Pat. No. 2,894,265 describes a water heating device that draws water from a water source with a mechanical pump mounted to and driven by the vehicle's engine, and heats a portion of that water by routing a heat exchange coil against the vehicle engine exhaust manifold. However, such an arrangement is inherently cumbersome and inefficient, in that the mechanical pump is essentially permanently mounted to the vehicle engine, and the heat transfer is accomplished by the hot exhaust gases heating the metallic exhaust manifold, which heats the metallic heat exchange coil, which heats the flowing water (i.e., an air-to-water heat exchange).